


River in Constantinople

by TopShelfOfficial



Series: Communication is Key [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Also the first time I'm using this site to actually post content., Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Slow Burn, Some pining, What used to be known as the Mouth-to-Mouth Headcannon, pidgance, plance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-02 21:54:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14554320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TopShelfOfficial/pseuds/TopShelfOfficial
Summary: A simple recon mission goes south, which results in Lance almost drowning. Luckily, Pidge is there to save the day! Except, Lance may not exactly know how CPR works, but he's pretty sure lip contact is unnecessary after he's breathing again....





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's here! The thing that started out as a few story ideas on tumblr, is now an actual story! Special thanks to @ares-is-a-tired-pigeon on tumblr for Beta Reading. I feel a lot less nervous about posting this now! And now, on with the show!

This is not how he saw his day going. Ever since Lotor became Emperor, things had slowed down considerably. Voltron was being utilized a little less every movement, and the Paladins had more time for personal projects. Maybe not enough time to travel all the way across the Galaxy to visit family, but enough to, for example, go to the Space Mall for a Spa Day. At least that was what Lance was intending to do today, until Shiro and Allura got a hold of him. “We need you to go on a mission.” Shiro opens without preamble.

“Sigh, a hero's work is never done. I guess I'll have to get a deep tissue massage some other day. So what do you need me to do? Rescue some Hostages? Fight some Pirates? Rescue Hostages from Pirates? Are the Hostages pretty?”

“Oh, nothing that dramatic.” Allura responds bemusedly. “There's a small, rural, planetoid nearby. Coran said that my Father didn't record any intelligent lifeforms living on it, so Shiro and I thought it would make a perfect outpost. We just need you to make sure that is still the case.”

“Oooooh...” Lance stretched out in order to gather his thoughts. “I thought it was going to be important.”

“Lance.” Shiro reprimanded.

“I'm sorry, I just thought if I was going to give up my day off that it would be for something...more exciting?”

“Lance, this mission may not be as...daring as you like. And honestly, if we had anyone else we wouldn't be bothering you. Ideally we would have picked Hunk for this mission, but he's already gone on his food tour with Shay...”

“Lucky.”

“...And in the best case scenario it might not even take too long. Coran already scanned the planetoid, and there are still no signs of occupation.”

“If it's so simple, why can't one of you do it?”

“I would, but Coran and I already promised Lotor to attend a Diplomatic Dinner with him.” Lance tried to withhold a grumble, but couldn't quite succeed. Shiro responded as if he hadn't heard him.

“I also need to spend some time with the Black Lion. I've been feeling out of sorts and this might be what I need.” He had to concede there. Shiro had been a bit off since his return, and Lance had started to notice recently. If soul searching with his Lion would help, he was all for it. A sudden thought made Lance furrow his eyebrows.

“What about Pidge? Isn't she and the Green Lion more suited for a recon mission?”

“Obviously, that's why you're coming with me as backup.” The girl in question piped up. “We leave in a half-varga. If you're not in Green by then, I'm leaving without you.” She said as she passed by. Lance thought about not showing up, but the combined pleading and admonishing looks from Allura and Shiro, respectively, convinced him otherwise. “I'll go get ready.” He said in resignation. At the very least, he thought, he was happy to be going with Pidge. Nothing against his pal Hunk, but of the scientifically inclined Paladins, Pidge was by far the more adventurous. If anyone could make this boring recon mission more tolerable, it was her.

***

Ylef-41 had a nondescript terrain. Sure, it wasn't exactly barren, but it reminded Lance of the background in the level of classic side-scroller. Valley, hill, pond, two or three trees, and another valley. On and on it went, with little variation; Sometimes the pond would be followed by another hill! It didn't help that the weather was ridiculously humid. Which made absolutely no sense, considering it was a cloudy day. After the seventh hill, Lance had had enough.

“Are we done yet?” he asked exasperatedly.

“You know, you could have waited in Green. I would have cracked a window for you.” She smugly replied as she scanned something that looked like a butterfly made of copper.

“Very funny. What kind of backup would I be if I just waited for you in the Lion, Pidgey?” Pidge sighed at this.

“I still don't know why Allura insisted that I have backup in the first place. It's not like I've never went on solo missions before. Hell, most of my solo missions were more dangerous than this one.”

“Beats me. Maybe she knew how bland this place was, and didn't want you to die of boredom.”

“Huh, and how are you supposed to prevent that from happening?”

“Simple. I can make anything exciting!”

“Oh yeah? Who was it that was complaining about this place, no less than a minute ago?”

“Give me a break, Pidge! I can only do so much with this material. Maybe Allura underestimated how dull this planetoid is.”

“Or she overestimated your ability to bring the excitement.”

“You're hilarious.” Lance deadpanned.

“I'm here all week!” Pidge enthusiastically replied. In spite of himself, Lance had to laugh at that. His laughter seemed please the girl, as her sassy smirk was converted to a full on beam. For some reason, Lance felt accomplished for getting Pidge to smile like that. It was probably because he had nothing else to look forward to on this quiznacking planetoid. “Look Lance, I know that you would rather be at some wellness center, or where ever Allura is, and I could have handled this recon on my own. But I'm glad you came with me anyway.”

“Pfft, as if I wanted to tag along to some kind of stuffy Galra dinner party and watch Lotor and Allura make Goo-Goo-Eyes at each other.” Pidge flinched slightly at his remark.

“I'm sure they were not going to flirt...that much.”

“You don't have to sugarcoat it, Pidge. I've known for a while that she doesn't really see me that way. Doesn't mean I like it.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing!” She instantly countered. “...I mean, I could imagine,...It must suck to watch the person you like be completely focused on somebody else...I guess.” Her words were gradually more muffled as she kept talking, yet Lance understood every word.

“...Pidge. do you, you know, have a cru...?”

“Is that hill over there bigger than the other ones?” She interrupted.

“What? Oh, yeah, I guess?”

“I'm going to take a closer look.”

“Ok...” Pidge didn't wait for him to finish his sentence and practically sprinted towards the hill in question. Lance noted that she was pretty fast for someone so short. However, based on her body language he deemed that telling her this now was probably not a good idea. Besides, he was also curious about what was on top of that hill.

***

“Ok, so what am I looking at?” Lance asked as they observed the strange creature on top of the hill. It was like the saddest chocolate fountain, except it smelled earthy.

“I'm not quite sure. All I know is that it's bigger than us, and that it has no real shape. It's kinda like a super-sized amoeba.”

“So, it's like a living mud puddle?”

“Essentially?”

“...This planetoid's weird.”

“Well luckily there's only a little landmass here, and we've covered most of it. I'll just summon Green and we can be...” Pidge, ever the pragmatist, had been pressing some buttons on her wrist computer. As soon as she pressed the last one, there was a change in the mud creature. The holes on the top of it, which had been regularly spurting out fresh sludge, went from the size of a fingertip to the size of a grapefruit. Once at full size, the creature started emitting a noise that sounded like  what Lance imagined a high pitched, gurgling, coyote mid-howl would sound like. Thankfully, it only lasted forty seconds. Unfortunately, that was not all that happened.

“Pidge, look out!” Lance screamed as he formed his Bayard into rifle mode. The sky was being swarmed with those metallic bugs that had been floating around lazily up till now. Pidge also activated her Bayard and braced herself for an attack. Once they got to their level, Lance started shooting. The shots didn't seem to have any effect, but the few that Pidge managed to hit with her weapon had an odd reaction. While the other critters rushed to the mud creature, the ones that were zapped shivered and then floated away. Before long, they flying creatures all settled on the living mud pie. As soon as they they landed, the flying creatures started getting absorbed into the sludge. This might have been the best time to depart, but surprise and intrigue kept the youngest Paladins stuck where they were. With wide eyes they watched the creature seemingly assemble a skeleton, and harden it's surface. The end product resembled a spiky shell the size of a tank, with two long, sharp, appendages and two more limbs suitable for crushing its enemies. And it was focused on them.

“...Hey Pidge?”

“Yeah?”

“How long till Green gets here?”

“About fifteen Dobashes, give or take.”

“Wanna meet it halfway?”

“Yep!” The two immediately ignited their jetpacks and tried to escape the encounter. However, they didn't count on the creature leaping over them and forcing them to back up. It emitted that strange howl again, and slashed its right claw at Pidge. “Woah!” she exclaimed as she just barely evaded the creatures attack. It responded by preparing to strike her with its other claw. Lance blasted at the claw, which only slowed it down, giving Pidge enough time to fly out of its reach. It jumped to reach her, but she just happened to be slightly higher than its current trajectory. Lance tried to distract it, perhaps even damage it, but apart from occasionally halting its progress, his attack did nothing to deter it from relentlessly pursuing Pidge.

“Why is it so intent on killing you?! Does it have something against women?!!”

“I highly doubt misogyny is the root of his anger, but I'll keep that theory in the back of my mind!”she replied as she zapped a claw tip. What was odd, was that the part that was zapped broke of into a small clump of metallic insects. Similarly to the when she had zapped the creatures earlier, they shivered and then floated off. However, this time they saw that the creatures destination was over the pond, where they would drop themselves. Lance thought this was incredibly random, but as he looked at Pidge, he recognized the face she made when she was about to find the solution to their problems. “Hey Lance, when you're ready, I need you to signal the Red Lion!”

“What? Red is still in the Castle! It will take him hours to get here, and Green is already booking here!”

“The point is not to get Red here, but the signal itself. Remember how this mud heap was docile until I signaled my Lion? I don't know why, but I think the frequency turns it violent. I also think it's autonomous skeletal system is vulnerable to high voltages.”

“Uhm...”

“...The point is I need time to build up enough of a charge to make most of the metal bugs inside it drop themselves into the pond out of surrender. However, I can't build up a charge if I have to constantly defend myself.”

“Wait, if the reason it's angry is the signal then shouldn't it settle down once your signal is off?”

“Perhaps, but if it doesn't, can I count on you to turn on your signal within three ticks?”

“How long will I have to act as a diversion?”

“About a minute?”

“Is that it?”

“Whatever, show-off. You ready?”

“Pidgey, do you even need to ask?” The girl shook her head in a combination of annoyance and amusement as she once again dodged the creature.

“Ok, in three, two, one...” After Pidge hit the last button once again, the creature actually hesitated. For a moment, the Paladins hoped that the creature had finally settled down. Only for it to launch its spikes in every direction. “Start the signal, start the signal, START THE SIGNAL!!!!”

“I'm already on it!” Between the rapid dodging, Lance was able to type in the right commands into his wrist device. Once again, the creature changed its attack pattern by reabsorbing the previously ejected spikes and turning its focus on Lance. Despite the creature actively stalking him, he couldn't help being proud of Pidge for figuring out its behavior that quickly. He bobbed, weaved, and intermittently shot at the creature, all the while ensuring that it stayed away from his friend. He didn't know if he had been dodging it for a minute or twenty, but soon he saw Pidge do a cutting motion over her neck. He guessed that meant he should turn his signal back off, so with a nod and one more blast to curb the creatures attack he went about doing that. Once the signal was off, and the creature prepared itself for another volley of spikes, Pidge took that moment to boost herself to the place where its spine might be and unleashed a truckload of electricity into it. The two paladins held their breaths for a few seconds, until the metallic insects vibrated out of their rock-like cover; Now, once again muddy. In an orderly procession, the insects made their way to the nearest ponds.

“Woo! You did it, Pidge!”

“Come on,” she waved off, dismissively. “It's not like I did it alone.”

“I know, right? And you thought you wouldn't need back-u..”

“Lance, watch out!” Lance had still been zipping around in the air with his jetpack, post-battle. However, he had failed to realize that he had drifted right between the pond and the metallic, and as it turned out heavy, insect's drop-zone. Despite Pidge's warning, Lance found himself being dragged down by the weight of a couple of insects on his gut. Soon he was submerged under the liquid within the pond. Many thoughts flooded his mind. Some were contemplative; Perhaps he shouldn't have left his helmet in Green, no matter how muggy the atmosphere was. Some were about the nature of the liquid; it was a little thicker than it looked, yet still managed to fill his lungs in record time. He didn't want to drown in this cheap imitation of water—he didn't want to die at all. When he thought he heard Pidge call out to him, all he could think of. was that he didn't want her to go in after him. Maybe it was the lack of air, but he couldn't remember if she had her helmet with her or not. Either way, he didn't want to risk her drowning in this fake water too. _'Please don't come down here!'_ he thought with all his might, in the hopes that he could somehow communicate this to the brilliant girl. Satisfied with his efforts, he finally decided to stop struggling, and only barely felt the sensation of a wire wrapping itself around him.

***

There was some kind of pressure on his chest. Something small, but forceful nonetheless. It pushed down on him repeatedly, in a desperate, almost clumsy manner. Every once in a while the pressure would be switched out with air being forced down his throat. Soon, he was able to make out a voice that spoke simultaneously with the pressure. A voice that seemed to be pleading, cursing, and crying in the same breath. As uncomfortable as it was to feel this fullness, the pressure was not exactly the best motivator for him to eject the unwanted contents. The air surplus, while not completely unpleasant, felt a bit invasive. But the voice, he had a feeling that he needed to fight for that voice. Lance finally spit up the strange liquid, after a tense session of half-remembered CPR. After coughing up the last of it, Lance lay back down looking up at the girl who just saved his life. She looked back at him, with her tear stained eyes, like he was still drowning. _'Oh Quiznack!'_ He thought in a panic. _'Pidge just had to do mouth-to-mouth on me. This must be super awkward for her. Quick, dispel the tension!'_

“Phew, I could definitely use a Spa Day now.” His words had an unexpected result. Sure, he had predicted the snort and eye-roll, but he did not see her bending down until their foreheads were touching coming. Pidge wasn't usually this...affectionate. Not that he was complaining, it actually felt nice. However, he wasn't sure how to proceed.

“You're such a dumbass.” She whispered tenderly. “I can't believe you almost died so ironically.” Now, the insults he could work.

“Careful there, Pidgey. If you keep this up, I might actually start to think you're swee...” And then it happened. The thing he was 99.9999% sure would never happen. Sure, it was hardly a second, their noses bumped, and stuff she did earlier had been slightly more sensual. Yet, before it had been an emergency, and now there was no excuse for her to do that unless...Unless. He barely heard her as she lead him to her Lion. Although, what little he did hear sounded bizarrely casual; as if his perception of reality hadn't been completely obliterated. Pidge continued with the small talk all the way back to the Castle, while Lance remained unresponsive. He mumbled something incoherent as they arrived in the hangar, and made his way to his room.

“What the hell was that?!” he cried out to himself in anguish, as he dropped himself on his bed. Lance could tell that he would not be getting any sleep, as he tried to find a way to rationalize what had happened on Ylef-41. Because right at this moment, it seemed like Pidge 'Gunderson' Holt had kissed him on the lips. And that just wasn't possible, right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, looks like I've finally adapted the rest of my original post... I'm not freaking out.

 

 

He couldn't go on like this. For almost two weeks he couldn't even be in the same room with Pidge, without doing something that made him look certifiable. Conversations had to be repeated, objects—and on one occasion a mouse—had been dropped, and he seemed to be incapable of sitting still. His behavior had most assuredly caught the attention of his fellow Paladins, and even Coran had been starting to grow frustrated with him. Yet, Pidge was seemingly unperturbed. Apart from the occasional awkward silence, she just carried on as usual. Saying words he didn't even know existed, calling him a goofball, the works. No matter how odd he acted she just took it in stride. As if the unthinkable hadn't happened between them. In fact, the more 'normal' she acted, the more on edge he was. After all, if Pidge, the smartest girl he knows, was acting like nothing happened, then perhaps nothing did happen. Maybe it was just some kind of Italian thing. Didn't Europeans casually exchange kisses casually? However, it didn't feel casual to him. The Kiss, or what he could remember of it, felt like a game changer. Why else would he be analyzing it, over and over again, instead of paying attention to the training drill of the day? Why else would he spend hours on end just staring at her, discovering things he never noticed about her; Like the amount of freckles on the bridge of her nose, or how many times she readjusted her glasses? For what reason did thoughts he never had about her keep popping in his head; Wondering what her tiny hands would feel like in his, or what lip balm she used to make her lips so sof..? He also questioned the dreams he'd been having. Not quite wet dreams—he'd never be able to talk to her again if that were the case—but more like a repetition of the incident. Sometimes it would be the entire encounter with the living mudpile, and sometimes it would be just The Kiss. No matter how they varied , the one constant was that _it_ would be in hyper focus. The way she held his head, the breath that escaped her after, his heartbeat increasing in speed. And most importantly, how come each time he woke up from these dreams, he felt like something was missing? No, this was a miserable existence. Being completely overwhelmed by this memory, while the other person acts like they didn't go through the same experience. Even now, Pidge was going through her combat drills perfectly, while he was here stewing on...

“Lance! Focus!” Someone called.

“Huh?” Was Lance's intelligent response, which was followed by him being shot, and therefore eliminated, by the training drone. After that, the entire exercise went down the drain. Without the lookout, Lance, the team was overrun with enemy forces and came to a quick, disappointing, and completely avoidable defeat. None of the fellow Paladins were happy, especially Shiro.

“All of you are dismissed for the day. Except Lance. I need to have a word with him.” He consequently announced. As the others shuffled out of the training room, Shiro's harsh gaze never left Lance. And for the first time in two weeks, his attention was not entirely on Pidge.

 

***

“What's going on with you these days?” He started in a gentle tone, in contrast to the reprimand Lance had been expecting. Shiro sounded exhausted, which was understandable, but also more like himself than he had been in a while. That was a relief to hear.

“...I...I don't...nothing really.” Lance sputtered out.

“The last two weeks beg to differ, Lance. You've been distracted, skittish, and more uncoordinated than ever before. This drill today should have been entirely in your wheelhouse. Hell, you've completed much more complex missions than this drill, yet now it's like you don't know the first thing about combat.”

“Well...”

“And it's not just in training! You've been unfocused everywhere. For some reason your head is always in the clouds, and we're just lucky that we haven't been on any serious missions lately, otherwise I'd be worried about the entire team. So please, tell me what's going on.”

“Nothing! I just...I don't know.”

“...Is this about Allura?”

“What!? No! What does Allura have to do with anything?”

“She has been spending more time with Lotor lately, and you seemed to be looking in her direction during the drill toda...”

“It's not Allura!” Lance screams, only now registering that the princess had been fighting back-to-back with Pidge. To the outside observer it would seem like he was still hung up on her—which while not untrue, was not the reason his eyes were locked in that direction. And at the moment, Shiro was dangerously close to finding the real reason. A mortifying scenario. “I may not be a fan of how often they seem to be hanging out, but in the end I'm not in charge of who she...associates with. And I'm trying to accept that. But that's not the reason I've been like this. I can't really tell you what it is. But I swear it's not about a gir...Allura.” He tries to explain, hoping that Shiro didn't catch his slip up.

“Look Lance, you're not on trial here. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this. You act like what happened on Ylef-41 was no big deal, but you've been different since that mission, and we're all worried about you.”

“Not everyone's worried.” Lance can't help but mutter under his breath. However, Shiro seems to have heard him, because his face looks puzzled. A few ticks later his eyes widen, which is then followed by a long suffering sigh.

“Of course.” he states to himself, as if coming to a conclusion. “Look, I wasn't there with you, so I can't claim to know what exactly happened on that planetoid, apart form your reports. If this is about processing the fact you almost died—which I know wasn't the first time, but sometimes these things take time to hit you—then feel free to talk to me about it. Trust me, I've had more brushes with death than I care to recount. If this is about something else...” At this Lance visibly stiffens. “...I suggest you find someone to talk to, if you're not comfortable discussing this with me.” With that Shiro claps his hands together. “I think I've said all I needed to. I hope you resolve this soon.”

“...Thanks, Shiro.” Lance says sincerely, as the man in question leaves the room. With a thumbs up, he bids him goodbye. Lance spends the next few minutes absorbing Shiro's final words. As much as he didn't want to talk to anyone about this, what he's been doing up till now has not been working. Perhaps talking to someone wouldn't hurt. _'I guess it's about time I talk to Hunk.'_ He thinks to himself, as he heads out to find his best friend.

***

After finding Hunk and asking to talk privately, roughly after two or three hours of psyching himself out, Lance was finally ready to discuss his...situation.

“Uh, Hunk?” he tentatively started, as he watched his friend prepare an elaborate lunch. “Do you...Did I ever tell you what happened on that planetoid? You know, when you were on that food tour.”

“Best food tour ever!” he exclaimed, with a smile Lance wasn't sure if it was caused by the cuisine he had encountered or the company he kept. Knowing Hunk, it was probably both. “But no, I only got a few details from Coran. You alright, buddy? Almost drowning must have sucked. No wonder you're so spacey nowadays.”

Lance winced in guilt for not talking with him earlier. “It's not that. I mean, that wasn't the greatest feeling ever, but I actually wanted to talk about...Pidge.”

“...Go on.”

For some reason, Hunks tone made him even more nervous. “So,...you know how she saved me?”

“Yess?”

“She had to do, like, mouth-to-mouth on me.”

“Uh-huh.” At this point, Hunk had stopped cooking altogether.

“Yeah, so after I was breathing again she kind of put her forehead against mine and then...”

“And then?!!” Lance could swear that Hunk was about burst into flames.

“I...I think,...she kissed me.”

Lance flinched as if he really expected his friend to explode. However, nothing happened...at first. Just as he thought the coast was clear, Hunk started doing a flawless impression of a tea kettle. “EEEEEEE! I KNEW IT! I knew it right from the start! Ok, maybe not from the start, because back then she was a bit more standoffish, and I didn't know her that well, but even then I thought your personalities could really mesh well, which is why I always supported you when you tried to force her into bonding with you. And yeah, I know you're thinking, 'Wait, didn't we think she was a boy back then?' Well sure, but I had my suspicions, and regardless you always struck me as someone who was at least hetero-flexible, if not bi...”

“Wha..?”

“...Oh man, but when we started this Voltron stuff, that's when you guys really started clicking. Just, off the charts chemistry!!! You constantly use her headphones, and she doesn't eviscerate you. Or how jealous she would get when you flirted with other girls. Ooh! Or how about the fact that you hung out with us while we are doing tech stuff more often than back at the Garrison. Like, I know we're friends, but I could never bring you to set foot in my workshop for more than a minute without you whining about it. And yet, I wasn't sure I'd ever see the day. After all, she's too stubborn and you're easily distracted...”

“Hey!”

“But now you guys kissed!!!”

“We maybe kissed...”

“Whatever, I can already hear the wedding bells! Please, say you'll let me be Best Man! Or wait, Pidge will probably want Matt to be Best Man. Well, I at least have dibs on catering. Aw, but I really wanted to do a speech. Hey, if I asked nicely, do you think Matt would let me be co-Best Man?”

“Hunk!” He finally interrupted, face the color of his Lion and breath heaving. “You are freaking me out! I don't even know how I feel about this, and she acts like it never happened so, can you just...cool it?”

Hunk seemingly calmed back down. “Sorry man, I just heard the word kiss in relation to you two and got excited. I guess you guys are still on the 'It's complicated status.' huh?”

“Something like that.” He agreed as he laid his head on the kitchen counter. “Can you just, not tell anybody about this? Especially Pidge,...I just need some time to figure this out.”

“You got it. But, it's a pity. I really thought Plance was going to set sail.”

“....You thought what was going to sail?”

“Plance? As in Pidge and Lance? Your ship name?”

“...You gave us a ship name?”

“Well, yeah. Do you not like it? I'm not sure about it either. On one hand, it sounds like 'plants', which is great because the Green Paladin is all about plants, but on the other hand, it could be easily confused with Plaxum. You know, that mermaid that was kinda sweet on you?”

“I know who Plaxum is...”

“And then there's Pance, which kinda makes me laugh. Lidge, which worked but could easily be used for a pairing between her and Lotor, and that's just too weird to think about. Pidgance is the most unambiguous, but it's also a mouthful...”

"..."

“And then there's the ones that don't incorporate your names like: SeaSalt, SmartWater, FlirtyRobot, RainForest, Fuc...”

“I'm just going to go now.” He said as he stood up from his seat.

“Wait! I need to know which one you prefer, and I've still got like 20 more to go through. Lance? Lance?! LANCE!!!” He called as the boy in question left the kitchen.

***

He couldn't believe this. Of all people, Hunk was the last one he expected to let him down. And yet, he couldn't say he was surprised. The big guy was full of love and sunshine, he couldn't blame him for getting excited. Sure, the ship names and wedding planning might have been excessive, but for some reason, the thought that Hunk could see them working was...comforting. He couldn't think about that now. He needed to find someone else to talk this through, and he was running out of people to choose from. Coran? No, he would probably be worse than Hunk—and something told him he's not that good at keeping this kind of secrets. Shiro? Sure, he offered to listen; but talking to him about Pidge would be like talking to her brother, and he didn't need that stress. Matt was her actual brother, and though he seemed like a chill guy, he might change if this context was brought up with her. Heck, he remembers giving Véronika's dates a hard time, most of them hadn't even kissed her yet. No, Matt was out of the question. Who did that leave then, Lotor? As if! The guy barely knew her, and something just didn't sit right with him at the thought of discussing Pidge with him. Keith? Yeah right....unless. Sure, he was his official 'rival', but it's not like he didn't trust his judgment. Also, he was the polar opposite of Hunk, if anyone could give him some rational advice, it was him. Also, since he mostly was gone on Blades missions, the chances of this getting back to Pidge were minuscule. Plus, Keith was definitely not the gossiping kind, so its not like his Galra buddies would be laughing about him behind his back. It was down to either him or...Allura.

 

***

“Hey Keith! Can we talk for a sec? You know, Ex-Red Paladin to current Red Paladin?”

“What?” Keith exclaimed in a disoriented tone, as Lance dragged him away shortly after arriving at the Castle.

“Great! Your such a good friend.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Don't worry about it!”

“I've got things to do!!!”

“Is someone gonna die if you postpone it for a few minutes?”

“Well, no...”

“Then my thing comes first.”

“...” He remained silent as he was led all the way to Lance's room. His facial expression was displaying extreme annoyance even as he watched Lance lock his door.

“Ok, I'm going to tell you something. And I need you to promise me that it won't leave this room.”

“...”

“Close enough.” And with that he launched into his 'problem'. It felt kind of cathartic to just get all his thoughts of his chest, and Keith was being a great listener. Before long, he had told him everything he could think of, and Keith still hadn't said a word.

“So...what do you think?”

“Hmm, what do I think?”

“...yeah?”

“Well, it sounds like you and Pidge had a significant bonding moment...”

“I guess you could call it that.”

“...and Pidge is acting like it never happened.”

“Yes, exactly!”

“Can't imagine how frustrating that must be...”

“...”

“...”

“...What?”

“Are seriously going to start up with that again?!!” He screamed exasperatedly.

“Start up with wha.....Is this about Arus?”

“You're damn right, this is about Arus!”

“Are you serious right now? I just poured out my heart to you and all you can think about is that petty grudge from ages ago? Nobody even remembers that now!”

“No, you are the one that refuses to remember. That's the problem!”

“I already apologized!”

“You were tied to a tree. That doesn't count!”

“What the hell do you want from me?!!”

“Isn't that obvious? I want a real apology!”

“Oh for the love of....I'm sorry for messing with you Keith. I was still deeply invested in our rivalry, and wasn't willing to admit that you're okay yet. Can you please forgive me?”

“...No.”

“What?!! Why the quiznack not?!!!”

“You're only apologizing because you want me to help you with your Pidge problem.”

“Aaargh!!!”

***

“Stupid Keith, with his stupid grudge, and his stupid mullet...” Lance muttered to himself hours after he left. He was pacing in his room, still fuming about that useless conversation he had. However, he eventually realized that the only one he had left to talk to was Allura. _'...I mean, maybe she'll be able to understand Pidge's behavior, being a girl too.'_ Immediately as that thought entered his mind, he realized how ridiculous that was. He and Keith were boys too, and he didn't understand what he was thinking half the time. “Grr, Keith.” he pronounced again, flabbergasted by the boy's logic. Alas, as much as it would have been preferable to just spend the rest of his waking hours cursing Keith, it was about time that he bit the bullet—unless he wanted to try his luck with Coran after all. He took a shuddering breath and searched for the princess. It wasn't long until he found her in Blue's hangar. That was actually reassuring. Despite him being the Red Paladin for a while now, being in his old Lion's presence was still comforting to him. With this extra courage, he called out to Allura.

“Hey, do you mind if we talk a bit?”

“Not at all, Lance. I'm always available to talk to.” She said serenely, as she did everything. _'Not the time, Lance!'_ he chastised himself. _'You're here to discuss Pidge. No need to drag in your unresolved feelings about Allura. Now, talk!'_

“...”

“...?”

“...”

“...You know, I might not know what people on Earth mean when they say they 'want to talk.' But in my culture, it was usually a way to open a dialogue.”

“Yeah, sorry, sorry. It's just not the easiest topic to bring up.”

“I understand. When I was younger, there were many a time I had to bring myself to start a topic with my father that I wasn't comfortable with. Usually, it was about something I was sure would get me in trouble. I found that the best way to start in those cases was to just say whatever was on my mind. No build up, no explanation. Just blurt ou...”

“Don't you think Pidge is really frustrating?!”

“Oh, you're ready now. Uhm, not particularl...”

“Because she always does this!”

“This being...?”

“She never does what I expect her to do, and she's always surprising me!”

“Maybe I should just listen for now...”

“When I first met her, I just thought she was a bookish, child prodigy that needed help getting out of his shell, but no! This boy is working undercover to find information on his lost family, who are legendary astrophysicists by the way, and also is actually a girl! Just when I think I got used to her being crazy smart, and just generally badass, she'll just do something else that blows my mind. Like the Plant Cannon, or finding a way to cloak all of Voltron!”

Allura doesn't even try to interrupt at this point and just nods in agreement.

“And so I think to myself, 'Wow, she's actually pretty cool! I wish we had more things to talk about.' and BAM! It turns out she likes video games as much as I do, and now we own a cow together!”

“Huh.”

“And now, just when I think I know where we stand, she kisses me and acts like nothing happened!”

“Wait, she kissed you?!”

“NOTHING!!! Not a blush, or a stutter. Not even a threat, or at least an awkward conversation about what this means for us, just plant one on me and move along. Dammit, was that a pun?”

“I'm not sure that's how puns work...” Allura mumbles contemplatively.

“But then again, I don't hate that she's so unpredictable. In fact, that's one of my favorite things about her. And this latest thing might have been unexpected, but it's not bad? I mean, I never really thought about her in those terms. But lately, she's all I can think about. Now don't get me wrong, Allura. I really did...do...have feelings for you, I think. But....I don't think I've felt this consumed by a person since my first crush on my sister's friend, Laina.”

“Ok...?”

“I forgot how intense it could be to be in lo...not that I'm saying I am! Not that it would be a bad thing, I just feel...feel...” Lance finally stopped talking to catch his breath.

“So...” Allura waits a few ticks before resuming. “...Let me get this straight. Are you upset because she kissed you and you weren't expecting it, or because she hasn't brought it up since?”

“I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. Everything seems so confusing now, and it's throwing off my concentration. I, I just want things to make sense again.”

“...Then why are you telling me this?”

“Because I ran out of....Because I value your opinion?”

“Well, my opinion is that you should talk to Pidge about this.”

“Ha! Good one.”

“...”

“...”

“...Wait, you're serious?”

“Lance, why would I joke about this? I can see how concerned you are about this issue, and I believe that the best way to deal with it is to face it head on.”

“Are you insane?! I can't just go up to Pidge and tell her about all this!”

“Why not?”

“Why not? Why not?!! Why not, she asks. Come on, isn't it obvious?”

“If it was obvious I wouldn't be asking you.”

“Well, it's because...”

“Yes?”

“...You see...”

“...?”

“The thing is...You know...It's just.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Whatever, Allura! You don't know everything!” He yells as he stomps out of the hangar.

“That's not a compelling argument!” She calls after him.

***

As much as he hated to admit it, Allura's advice made sense. True, he suspected some Altean magic was in play to bring him to this conclusion; but nevertheless here he was. Standing in front of her room, his knuckles mid-air. While he was still contemplating if he should knock or just walk away, his choice was taken from him when Pidge opened the door herself.

“What the...?” escaped her as she jumped back a step. “Lance? What are you doing here in front of my room?”

“Oh, heeeeey! I was just...wondering if you were available for...a gaming session?”

“Hmm.” she contemplated for a few seconds. “Sure, my work on the universal communicator has been taking up a lot of time. I could use a break.”

“Awesome! Let's go!” Lance said, in a completely natural sounding voice. The only indication that Pidge found this unusual was a shrug and a short, soft giggle.

 

Hours later they were in the midst of an intense boss battle. Pidge was doing much better than him, as usual, but he was actually concentrating on something other than her. At least that's what Lance thought until his character lost all his lives.

“Maybe you should sit this one out, Hotshot.” She gleefully mocked.

“Yeah, you're probably right.” he disappointedly agreed, as he put his controller down. “So, you were working on some kind of universal communicator?”

“Oh yeah!” she enthusiastically responded, without missing a button press. “You know how some communication devices work on many frequencies but only in short range, or some work on the most distant of ranges but only a few frequencies? Well, I was thinking I could make....” As she continued excitedly talking about her latest project, Lance couldn't help feeling warm inside. Seeing her eyes light up made him question how he could have kept his distance from her for so long. “...So yeah, I thought it could have really critical applications like scanning for secret frequencies that could in turn help us gather intel on whatever Galra dissenters are left, or something more personal, like contacting our families back on Earth.”

“That sounds amazing, Pidge. Once again, you're making us look expendable.”

The light blush on her cheeks, actually made his heart pick up the pace. “Ok, there's no need to exaggerate like that. I'm still in the planning stage, so I don't even know if it's feasible.”

“It's not an exaggeration if it's true. And besides, all of your machines have worked so far, so I'm sure this one will work too.”

“Whatever.” She said as she punched him on the arm. Surprisingly, she was able to complete the boss battle. She was about to start the next level, when Lance hit the start button on his controller. “Hey! What gives?” she called, as she looked at him outraged.

“I..”his already increased heartbeat seemed to be pounding even harder. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something. I mean, it's not life threatening, but I've been putting it off for a while now, and I really think we should hash it out.”

“Ok? So, what's this about?”

Lance took a deep breath to settle his wild blood-pressure. It only helped a little. “Do you remember what happened on that planetoid, about two and a half weeks ago?”

“For the most part?”

“Towards the end,... Do you know what happened towards the end of that mission?”

“...Why are you asking?”

“Oh, you know...”he scrambled for a justified reason. “I just was mostly unconscious for that part, not to mention drowning tends to do a number on memories, so...I was just wondering if you could...clarify some things.”

“Nothing much happened.” she shrugged. “You fell into the pond. I wrapped my Bayard around you and pulled you out. Gave you CPR, and then we went back to the Castle.”

“That moment! I want to know what happened then!” He gesticulated as he declared.

“When exactly?”

“Between the CPR and returning to the Castle. What happened then?”

“...I think I called you a dumb-ass?”

“Goddammi..! I'm talking about the Kiss!” He finally blurted out.

“...I don't know what you mean.” She said as she turned away from him and reached for her controller. However, before she could reach it, he held onto her arm and pulled it away.

“That's bull, Pidge! I might have been out of it, but I know when I'm kissed. Just tell me why you're acting like nothing happened.”

“I'm not acting, because nothing happened.”

“Yeah, and denial is a river in Constantinople.”

“...What?”

“What? I just always thought it made more sense than the actual saying.”

“How? Constantinople is not even a city anymore. There's a whole song about it.”

“Ok, we are getting of topic here. My choice of idioms isn't the issue here. The fact that you kissed me, and then brushed it off is.”

“No it's not, because it never happened.”

“If it didn't happen, then why can't I stop thinking about it?”

“How should I know? I'm not a mind reader.”

“I don't know why you can't just admit it. It's not like I'm mad or anything, I just want know why...”

“Oh my god, Lance! Has it ever occurred to you that some girls might not be into you? Is it so hard to imagine that someone female might not want to kiss you? Is your ego really that inflated?!”

“Pidge, this isn't about...”

“Then stop insisting that I kissed you!”

And just like that, Lance's heart sunk. “I get it. I'm sorry.”

“Wait, I shouldn't have...” She began to apologize.

“No, you're right. You told me from the beginning that nothing happened, and I just kept on pestering you about it. No wonder you got annoyed.”

“Lance...”

“Hey, now we know that in addition to being the worst planetoid ever, Ylef-41 has hallucinogenic water. So hey, we learned something!” He said with an overly forced smile. “Hey, I think I'm just slowing you down, so why don't you just finish this level without me? I've gotta go...try out a new skin treatment or something.” He didn't wait for her to respond as he left his own room. He didn't care about the fact that Hunk scrambled away from the door out of nowhere, or that Allura, Coran, and Shiro were doing their best to act like they had a legitimate reason to be in that hallway. He just walked without any real goal in mind until he reached the observation deck. As he looked out at the numerous stars, moons, and planets, he only felt numbness. This numbness spread until he heard something quietly drip to the floor. As he discovered that the source of the drip was his own eyes, thoughts and feelings began to overwhelm him. Out of all the sensations and realizations, the most prominent one was how much he had been hoping that this conversation would lead to another kiss.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand I've Title Dropped, Haha? *Clears throat*  
> I would like to thank @ares-is-a-tired-pigeon for being a kick-ass Beta Reader, and @voltron-multishipper for drawing this gorgeous piece.  
> https://voltron-multishipper.tumblr.com/post/173680940898/a-follow-up-to-this-post  
> I still can't get over the fact that something I put together inspired fan-art! And of course, everybody who's left kudos, comments, or even bookmarked the last chapter. I can't promise that I'll update this soon again, especially since I'll be writing uncharted territory, but I'll do my best. Until then!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I get dangerously close to harlequin romance levels with a cow milking scene....I don't even know anymore, guys.

“I think I messed up, Matt.” Are the first words Pidge utters, when her communication device finally connects to her brother.

“Ok, I guess this is that kind of a call. So are we talking a flaw in initial hypothesis 'mess up', or a social interaction one?”

“The latter.”

“Damn, I was hoping it was the former.”

“Trust me, that would have been my preference as well.”

“At least tell me it's not boy problem.”

“...”

“Come on!”

“Hey, I can't help it if my team is made up mostly of guys! The probability of any social miscommunication being a 'boy problem', are 4:1 by default!”

“Please, you know I mean something very specific by 'boy problem'. Unless this is a case of eating the wrong person's left overs.”

“...It's not like that.”

“There goes that dream.”

“Matt!” she screamed in exasperation. “This is already difficult to talk about, and you aren't making this any easier.”

“Sorry, sorry. Proceed.”

Pidge took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts. “So...something happened between me and...one of my teammates.”

“Hunk or Lance?”

“Matt!”

“What? I already know it's a boy, and I doubt it was Shiro or Coran. Except, maybe it was Keith. Does he still count as your teammate if he's mostly on another team?”

“Matt, I'm not telling you who it is.”

“What?! But how am I supposed to help out with your 'boy problem' if I don't know all the variables, i.e. his name?”

“His name is irrelevant.”

“No it's not. Depending on who it is, we would have to adjust our course of action accordingly...”

“I'm not telling you, because you'll make it weird.”

“No, I won't....”

“...”

“I mean, I would have to lay down a few rules, especially because Dad's back on earth now.”

“Matt!”

“Fine, I'll find out eventually anyway.”

“No, you won't.”

“It'll be pretty hard not know who your new boyfriend is.”

“He's not going to be my boyfriend!”

“Why? Wait?! Was the something that happened forced on you?!! Because if it was and you're still refusing to tell me who it...”  
“NO!!! No, he would never...It's more like I forced it.”

“Katie...?”

“Please, let me just...Let me try to explain.”

“Ok.”

“So,...the two of us were on a mission. Things got a little crazy and he almost drowned. So of course I wind up preforming what I hope is CPR, and he makes it. And I'm just so relieved. Before I know it, the thought of kissing him enters my mind.”

“...!”

“Not like it was the first time that happened, but this was the first time I acted on it.”

“Please don't go into details.”

“It was a peck, weirdo! It was just something impulsive and reckless, spurred on by his near death combined with my lips recent acquaintance with his. I didn't even realize I did it until I was done.”

“Ok, so you kissed him and now things are awkward.”

“It's....a little more complicated than that.”

“How could it be more complicated?”

“Well, I tried to not make it weird by acting like it didn't happen.”

“Oh boy.”

“And I thought that after being freaked out a bit he would just shake it off but...”

“That didn't happen?”

“We had a fight about it a while ago.”

Even now, Pidge cringed as she thought back to the incident back in Lance's room. She had left right after him, unable to stay in that atmosphere any longer. After some contemplation she had reached out to Matt, in the hopes of finding some clarity.

“Wow, that's quite the predicament. Maybe you should explain to him what you really...”

“Out of the question.”

“Why? It's perfectly reasonable to talk this out.”

“I already confused him enough as it is. He just accepted that the 'kiss' didn't happen. If I told him now, he would be even more upset, and then he'd....He'd never forgive me.”

“I may not know who this is, yet, but I think you might be underestimating him. Besides, if he's upset because he thinks you guys didn't kiss, doesn't it stand to reason that...”

“I'm going to stop you right there. I know for a fact that he doesn't see me like that, also I'm clearly not his type.”

“Well, I can't really say anything about his type, since I'm still not sure who we're discussing—except to say that you're frankly to good for anyone, but I'm your brother so I'm biased—however, just because he hasn't seen you in that context before, doesn't mean he couldn't have his mind changed. With maybe an unexpected kiss as a catalyst.”

“This isn't a Dating Sim, Matt. It doesn't work like that!”

“Hey! All fiction is rooted in some reality.”

“I don't want to tell him...I can't...We have other things to worry about, like Voltron and other stuff like that. Dumping all this on him would only shake up the team dynamic, and even with things slowing down now, we can't afford to shake our bond as Paladins.”

“So, what are you going to do instead? Keep acting like there is no problem?”

“No, that won't work anymore.”

“It didn't work in the first place.”

“I have to find a way to make it up to him without telling him the truth.”

“You know that's going to backfire, right? This is the Challenger all over again.”

“This isn't the Challenger.”

“This sounds like the Challenger to me.”

“Look, I was a kid back then, and I was trying to avoid punishment, but my guilt caused me to expose myself. This is different. I'm not going to avoid accountability. I just...am going to focus his attention elsewhere, like...the UC.”

“The what?”

“A new project I was working on. I think I might make it my priority for a while.”

“O...k...Look, even if you really aren't gonna tell him the truth, which I still think you should, try not to avoid him. Let him know that you're still friends. I'm sure Lotor will forgive you?”

“Ew, it's not Lotor! That guys thousands of years old, plus I barely know him. Stop trying to guess who it is. I'm not telling you.”

“You don't have to tell me, I already know.”

“Oh yeah?”

“...it's a Paladin.”

“Which makes your whole Lotor theory even more ridiculous.”

“I was trying to catch you off guard. So, which one was the one you liked again?”

“Good-bye, Matt.”

He tried to retort as Pidge cut of the feed, but whatever he was going to say was lost to her. She looked around her room to study her various unfinished projects and picked up her plans for the universal communicator. _'Better think of a cooler name.'_ She thought to herself, as she started scribbling some more calculations. She wondered if Lance would have been able to spitball some name ideas with her if they hadn't had that falling out earlier. _'Perhaps,'_ she mused. _'That is my key.'_

 

***

In a reversal of the past few weeks, it was Pidge who was fidgeting at the breakfast table, and Lance who was casually eating. Except, that wasn't entirely true since he was eating a little too casually, almost stoic. Pidge knew he was upset, but had never imagine he'd be this affected. She couldn't imagine why, surely the Kiss hadn't meant that much to him, right? She shook that thought away, along with the observation that the other Castle inhabitants also seemed oddly quiet, and focused her attention on Lance. The first step of her reconciliation gesture was to find a way to get them somewhere private to talk. She suspected that their altercation last night was overheard by the others, and was hoping to keep this between the two of them. However, she was not even sure if Lance wanted to be anywhere near her voluntarily, so she wasn't sure how to commence. Sighing in defeat, she randomly glanced towards Hunk. The look of determination she found on his face surprised and unnerved her.

“So!” He suddenly exclaimed. “You guys remember my food tour with Shay?”

“You only bring it up twenty times a day...” Lance muttered in an almost Lance-like manner. It gave her a little hope.

“Anyway, I found some grains that had rice like properties, and some spices that could be combined to make a cinnamon like flavor. You know what I haven't made in a while that would be perfect for those ingredients?”

Silence and befuddled looks were the only response to his question.

“You guessed it, rice pudding!” He proclaimed.

“Huh, that's oddly less ambitious than your usual meals.” Shiro stated.

“Well, sometimes you gotta stick with the classics.” Hunk shrugged.

“So, this _Rise Pud-ding_ is a common meal on Earth?” Allura politely inquired. Coran leaned towards him in interest as well.

“Yup, simple yet satisfying. Easy to make, and even easier to ruin. Hey Pidge! You like rice pudding, don't you?”

“Uh, not particu...”

“Great! I'll fix some up for you right away. Oh no!” He exclaimed in exaggerated distraught. “I've ran out of milk! Hey, Pidge! Will you be a bud, and fetch some from Kaltenecker?!”

“But I...”

“Don't know how to milk a cow! Duh! How could I forget that! I know! Lance should go and help you!”

“Huh?” The boy in question responded.

At the mention of the word milk, Coran and Allura had gotten pale, and pushed their plates aside. Shiro, on the other hand was just puzzled. “Wouldn't it make more sense, to just send Lan...”

“Well, that rice pudding's not gonna make itself, so you two better hurry up!” Hunk spoke over him as he pushed Lance and Pidge out of the dining room. And just like that, the two of them were alone.

“So,...” Pidge started as they made their way towards Kaltenecker's habitat. “I guess Hunk really wants to make rice pudding.”

“Yeah.” Lance snorted. “That's kind of random.”

“I don't even know why he thinks I like it, I mean, I don't hate it but it's not my most favorite of the puddings. It has such a weird consistency, you know?”

“Yeah, I definitely have to be in the mood for it. My Grandma always used to make some when my siblings or I got...upset.”

The cheery mood that he was slowly getting back into deflated again. However, Pidge was not disheartened as this presented a perfect opening.

“Hey, I've been thinking about putting all of my energy into that communicator project I was telling you about. If I finished it, you would be able to get in touch with your family again.”

“Really?!” His eyes sparkled in excitement. “That's amazing! You're so amazing...”

“...It's no big deal, just doing my part.” She tried to hide her blush by looking away from him. “Besides, it's the least I could do after I blew up at you like that last night.” She added in a small voice.

“...You don't need to apologize for that.”

“I...I still want to. It was petty and needlessly hurtful, and I had no reason to explode at you like that.”

“Then why did you?”

“I...uhm...I need a name for the machine.”

“What? What does that have to...”

“Sometimes I get caught up in little details like that and that makes me lash out at people, but maybe you could come up with a better name than that?”

“...How about, the 'Gunderson'?”

Pidge sighed in relief, before answering. “Why would you call it that?”

“Well, most inventors name things after themselves, so...”

“Except my name isn't Gunderson.”

“But at the Garrison...”

“You do remember that I was disguised as a boy, right?”

“I just assumed it was your mom's maiden name.”

“My mom's maiden name is Albero. Also, she's an alumnus of the Garrison, so obviously it would have been suspicious if somebody with her name appeared right after I was banned from campus.”

“Then Gunderson is...”

“Something I came up with.”

“Wow, and somehow it suits your name better.”

“What are you talking about now?” She laughed bemusedly.

“I mean, no offense, but Pidge Holt has a strange ring to it.”

“You...you do know Pidge is not my actual name, don't you?”

“What?!”

“Why are you so surprised?!”

“Because you keep on springing these things on me. You're names really not Pidge? Why were you keeping this from me?!”

“It wasn't a secret. I thought it would be obvious that Pidge is a nickname. What self respecting people would actually name their kid, Pidge?”

“I don't know, but that's what it said on the Call Sheet. Besides, your parents are geniuses. Who am I to question the naming conventions of geniuses?”

“You're such a dumbass.” She froze after saying that, remembering that these had been the exact words she said shortly before kissing him. “It's Katie.” She said in hopes of diverting his attention away from that potential line of thought.

“What?” He responded, clearly dazed.

“My name. Before you accuse me of keeping secrets from you again, my name is Katie. The only reason I didn't tell you up till now, is because you never asked. And I was already used to being called Pidge, so I didn't see a point in telling anybody.”

“Katie...” he says for the first time. “That's a much better fit with Holt.”

“Whatever.”She dismisses, as she tries to fight another blush. “I'm not entirely opposed to naming the communicator the 'Gunderson', but I was kinda hoping to save that name for a specialized blaster.”

“Whatever, dork.” He said affectionately as they approached the door to the re-purposed holo-deck. “So, do you want to watch me milk a cow?”

“You know, I never saw a cow being milked in person.”

“Well, you don't have to, but now is a good time as ever.”

“...Sure. I already walked here, might as well get something out of it.”

 

***

Watching Lance milk a cow was some kind spiritual experience. Or, at least to Pidge it was. Sure he wasn't doing something too extraordinary, yet, the precision and focus with which he did it was mesmerizing. The only other time she's seen Lance this focused was on missions. And those aren't usually the best occasions to observe him. It made her wonder if he was this precise in 'other' situations.

“...Pidge?”

“What?!”She said in a panicked voice, mortified by the direction of her thoughts.

“Nothing...”he said cautiously. “I was just asking if you wanted to give it a try?”

“You mean milking? I don't know. I've never done it before, and I've heard that it's harder than it looks, and besides I'm not a cow person?”

Lance gasped in mock horror. “How could you say that in front of our Cow-daughter! Don't listen to her, Kaltenecker. You're beautiful, and Mommy loves you very much.” He said as he patted the cow reassuringly. Pidge rolled her eyes at his theatrics. Kaltenecker moo'd indifferently. “But seriously, give it a try. It's gotta be better than just watching me.”

“You're doing a great job, and I would hate to accidentally hurt her.”

“You won't hurt her. I'll be right here to show you how to do it.”

“I don't know, what if she kicks me?”

“That's not going to happen. Trust me, Katie.” He said while invitingly holding his hand out.

 _'Uh oh'_ she thought as felt her heartbeat pick up in pace. _'Maybe I shouldn't have told him my name after all, he's much too dangerous now.'_

“If you insist.” she said nonchalantly, hoping he didn't notice how tense she suddenly felt. She looked around before saying, “Uhm, where can I find another stool?”

“Please, we don't need another stool. Just sit on my lap.”

“What!? No way.”

“Come on, stop being so stubborn and sit down.” He said as he tugged her into a sitting position. “Now,” he said while taking her hands in his own. “Hold her udders like this. And then you carefully squeeze like this.” He demonstrated by moving her hands into the motions. After a few strokes he let her hands go so she could try for herself. It didn't work quite as well on her own, but every time she made a mistake, Lance would lean against her to patiently show her how to do it again. If he noticed how her face got increasingly more red every time her back and his chest made contact, he made no indication of such. After a few more corrections, Pidge finally had a good pace going. Unfortunately for her, Lance didn't see this as a reason to decrease their proximity. In fact, he seemed quite content with resting his face on top of her head. The way he casually played with her hair, was driving her crazy. “Do you know how soft your hair is?” he mumbled as he twisted a lock near her right ear. “Because it's even softer than I thought. And it smells amazing.” Pidge gulped nervously, unsure what to make of his words.

“...it used to be longer.” She thoughtlessly blurts out.

“That must have been a glorious sight. I hope you grow it out again sometime. I'd love to see you with long hair. Not that I have anything against your hair now.” he was quick to explain. “I'd love your hair no matter how you chose to wear it.” It took her all her willpower not to freeze up at his casual use of the 'L' word in reference to something relating to her.

“Did you think of a name for the communicator yet?” She asked in a last ditch effort to stir them into a safer topic.

“Hmm. I can't think of anything at the moment. Do you have any ideas?”

“Well up till now I've been calling it the UC, but that's just the initials of universal communicator. Of course if I called it a universal communication device, then the initials would be UCD, but I feel like that's the initials of a college or something. And then there's....never mind.”

“What? You can't just leave me hanging.”

“It was just a dumb idea, don't worry.”

“Come on, you know that'll only make me more curious. Please, Katie. I promise I won't make fun of you.”

 _'Quiznack! Not again.'_ she laments to herself. _'I should have never told him my name.'_

“...Ibáñez.” She whispers. Even with his proximity, she's not sure if he heard her. “You know, since your family is bound to get the most use of it.” She rushes to explain regardless. She expects him to tease her. She expects him to preen. What she doesn't expect is for him to kiss her temple and to tenderly whisper. “As flattered as I am, we both know that the only one of us worthy of having a machine named after them is you.”

“The bucket's full!” She abruptly calls out, shattering whatever was happening between them. “You know how stoked Hunk was about that rice pudding, so I better bring this to him.” She picks up the a fore mentioned bucket and beats a hasty retreat, ignoring whatever protests he brings up.

 _'This isn't fair.'_ she thinks as she sluggishly carries the bucket towards the kitchen. _'I'm trying to protect you, Lance! Stop making this so difficult.'_

***

Work on the HCD, Holt Communication Device, kicks into high gear. With the help of Hunk, she's able to make some important adjustments. However, not even he is able to find a concrete solution for the range/compatibly angle that is the focal point of the project. Also, he's not very subtle in his inquisition of her 'relationship status' with Lance. Undeterred she keeps on working on the device. Other than going on missions, training, eating, and sleeping, all Pidge does is work on the HCD. Sometimes, she even forgets the eating and sleeping part. After a few weeks, she invites her brother over for some more advice. Upon his arrival, they make some great progress but not in the areas she was hoping. On one such day, Lance 'spontaneously' drops in. “Hey, Holt Siblings! You guys forgot to break for lunch again, so I had Hunk whip something up for you guys.”

“Great timing! My stomach was growling something fierce.” Matt says as he stands up to receive the lunch. He's not even surprised when Lance completely ignores him, and bee-lines it to his sister.

“How's the work coming?” he asks as he sets the tray down next to her.

“Ok. We were able to work out the individual parameters, but we can't get the device to do both functions without making it the size of a Baby Grand. It's so frustrating.”

“Hey, just because things aren't working out like you want, doesn't mean you can't take a break.” He says as he supportively put his hand on her shoulder. “Promise not to pull an all-nighter again?”

“I can't make that promise. Besides, the sooner I finish this, the sooner you can talk to your family again.”

“There's no rush, Katie. I'm already used to not talking to them, and the longer this project takes, the longer I don't have to put up with my parents nagging.” He tries to laugh off.

“You don't need to put up a front with me. I know how much you miss them.”

“Yeah, but it's not worth you burning out. At least take your time to eat, ok?” He implores as his thumb slowly strokes her collarbone.

“Fine, it it means that much to you.” Pidge finally acquiesces.

“That's all I needed.” He smiles as he drops his hand. “I'll leave you guys to it then. See you around, Matt!” He finally acknowledges the other Holt in the room. Matt just holds up his juice pack in response, not even bothered with how soon after greeting him Lance leaves.

“Well, that settles it. Lance is the 'boy'.”

“What?! No, what are you even talking about?”

“Please, don't insult my intelligence. I already know that your crush is a fellow Paladin, and that he's male, and close to your age. That rules out Coran, Allura, and Shiro among the people you most frequently interact with.”

“I don't want to hear your deductions.” She groans.

“Well too bad. Which leaves us with only three candidates, and one of them doesn't really count because he's barely here.”

“Oh god.”

“...So that leaves us with only two viable suspects...”

“So they're suspects now?”

“...Hunk and Lance. Now, Hunk could have been a good contender. Smart, sweet, can cook, you get along pretty well, I bet Dad loves him.”

“Ugh!”

“But Lance, every time he 'drops in', ...” Pidge lifts an eyebrow when Matt puts finger quotes around the words 'drops in'. “...The tension becomes thicker than a brick wall. Not to mention, your body language becomes much more...uhm...inviting.”

“Ok, the fact that you've been studying my body language is all kinds of creepy.”

“Trust me, it was uncomfortable for me too. But I have some great news for you. I'm 105, no 245% sure he reciprocates, with a 10% margin of error, give or take.”

“Ok, you lost it.”

“It's true. That boy wants you, like a non-metal wants an electron.”

“Shut up!”

“How else do you explain how frequently he 'checks up on the project.' Not even Coran and Hunk come by that often, and they can understand what we're talking about.”

“That doesn't mean...”

“Or how the only thing he's said to me directly during my entire visit is 'See you around, Matt.'”

“That can't be tru...”

“But when it comes to you it's 'I got you something to eat!', 'Here's some water, it's important for you to keep hydrated.', 'Are you sleeping enough? Because you look like you could use more sleep.','I don't care if I ever talk to my family again, as long as you're healthy.', 'Oh Pidge, your so smart!'”

“He doesn't even sound like that!”

“And another thing! He sometimes calls you Katie. I didn't even know that anyone apart from Shiro knew your name is Katie, and yet, he's the only one around here who calls you that.”

“He just found out, he's just getting it out of his system.” However, Pidge is unable to hide her blush at this comment.

“And he never leaves without touching you in some way...”

“He's very tactile...”

“And he looks at you like you have the answers to every question he's ever had. Face it, Pidge. He likes...”

“He likes Allura!” She interrupts, her fists clenched in frustration. “He's liked her since he first saw her. Sure he flirts with any female with a comprehensible form of communication, but he's never stopped liking Allura. He's never flirted with …The point is you're not a matchmaker, so stop acting like one.”

“Hey, you know I didn't mean anything by it, Katie. I was just telling you my opinion. Besides, just because he's liked Allura up till now—which I totally understand—doesn't mean he can't be interested in you now. You should really reconsider telling him...”

“I already told you, that's not going to happen.”

“But with Lotor and Allura getting closer...”

“That's exactly why I can't risk this. Lance is...He's in love with being in love. It's difficult for him to watch the object of his affections grow closer to somebody else. If he has any feelings for me it's probably a redirection of his lingering feelings for Allura. If I gave him any positive feedback, it could end up exploding in our faces, and that's not fair to him.”

“Or you?”

“...Shut up and eat your lunch, Matt.” She snapped at him. With a shrug he obeyed her, but couldn't stop the look of concern from forming on his face.

 

***

Before long, it became apparent that Pidge had taken the HCD as far as she could take it with her own resources. So, she requested to be reassigned to Olkarian.

“...I really believe that this machine could be useful to not only us, but our allies. Just imagine rebel forces being able to reconnect with their loved ones across the galaxy on secure channels, or if necessary a more efficient way to search for enemy chatter...” she explained as Allura and Shiro gave her thoughtful and apprehensive looks. “...Plus with the help of the Olkari, I'm bound to finish this project in two-three weeks. A month tops.”

“I'm not sure I can spare you for that long, Pidge.” Allura said firmly.

“I'm not pulling a Keith. I'm just asking for my base of operations to be moved temporarily. If there's any mission that requires Voltron or the Green Lion, just signal me and I'll drop everything to get there. I promise. Besides, if you're worried about me getting carried away, you can ask Ryner to look out for me. Please, I'm so close to finishing!” Allura and Shiro looked at each other contemplatively.

 

***

Her first week on Olkarion was going great. She was making so many leaps in her progress, she was sure it was only a matter of time before the HCD was ready. Stopping her work for missions wasn't a problem either. There had only been one assignment where she was required, and it was a cakewalk. If the following week was like this she was bound to finish before her deadline.

 

***

Pidge was beginning to hate that signal. After a week and a half of relative peace, all the revolting Galra seemed to be coming out of the woodwork, and wreaking havoc within days of each other. Each mission was precious time wasted. What annoyed her the most, is that each signal seemed to come in the middle of a complicated sequence, that took hours to calculate. By the time she returned from the mission, she would have already forgotten what she'd just worked out and be forced to start from scratch again. However, she didn't dare ignore the summons, as she was sure Allura would pull the plug on her project the moment she did that. And she couldn't afford that, not when she was so close. _'I'll just have to buckle down next week.'_ She reaffirmed to herself. _'Just a little more, and then I can finally make it up to him.'_

***

“When is the last time you've eaten?” Ryner asked her calmly.

“I don't really know. I'm sure it wasn't too long ago.”

“I'm not so sure about that. I don't think anybody here has seen you eat in the past two days.”

“I'm sorry, it's just this device is a lot more sophisticated than I originally envisioned, and I just got a little caught up in it.”

“Trust me, I know what it's like to get caught up in a good project. But you're not only a scientist, but a Paladin. The universe needs you, and you won't do the universe any good malnourished and sleep deprived.”

“I know. And I'll try to take better care of myself.”

“Now.”

“Now?”

“It's been six vargas since sunset. You're way over due for some sleep.”

“But I'm...”

“So close, I know. The work won't disappear if you sleep for a few vargas.”

“...”

“I'll wake you in time for breakfast, and then check in to make sure you don't starve every once in a while. Besides, even if you don't make your deadline one of our scientists can always finish it for you.”

“I know, I'd just really prefer to finish it myself.”

“I can understand that too.” She said as she led Pidge to her bed. The girl blew her considerably longer bang out of her face in frustration. “I'll see you in the morning.”

“Good night.” Pidge replied, a little sullenly.

The following morning, Ryner didn't let Pidge get to work until she had finished her breakfast. She had to begrudgingly admit that it was a good call, as she was a lot more clear headed than she had been in days. The first day, of the random check-ups was tolerable, but the next day she seemed to be checking up more frequently. Once she had even insisted that she go to sleep. It couldn't have been more than four vargas. After the sixth check-up she locked the door. She just needed a little time to power through, and she would rest as much as they wanted. However, even with the door locked, Ryner or someone else kept on knocking on the door. She soon learned to ignore that too.

“Pidge?! Are you alright?” She blinked at the familiar voice. _'Lance?'_ She paused in her work.

“Can you open the door? Because, you've been in there for a while.” She sighed as she got up from her desk and let him in.

“Tell Ryner I'm sorry for locking the door. But, in my defense, I wouldn't have done it if she hadn't been interrupting me so often.”

“Interrupting you so ...Pidge, she only knocked every five vargas.”

“Are you sure? Because it seemed more frequent. And that's no reason to get you here.”

“...You've been locked in your lab for almost three quintants.”

“No, I'm sure that's not true because...because....” Forming words suddenly started to become considerably more difficult. As she tried to find a justification for herself, she brushed away something that was tickling her neck. No matter how many times she tried to brush the thing away, it would instantly resume tickling her. After a few tries she finally picked up the irritating object, only to find out it was her hair. Her much longer hair.

“When did this..ugh.” She closed her eyes as she was wracked with a sudden migraine. Once she opened them again, she say that Lance was only a few steps away from her, looking extremely worried.

“Pidge.....Are you.....Pidge?” Great, now her hearing was shot. Next, things got blurry and shaky, and then. _'Is that the ceiling? Why am I looking at the ceiling?'_

“Pidge!” Lance called out to her from above, because she just realized that she was indeed on the floor. “Pidge! Pidge! Say something! Please, say something, Katie! I need you to be alright!” She barely understood him as his voice seemed get ever quieter, despite how much he was screaming.

“Don't...Don't say...My name...Like...That...” she muttered as she felt him put his arms around her. “It will only....Fool me...Into...” And then she blacked out.  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, what is it about me ending odd numbered chapters with at least one person going unconscious? Eh. Once again, Ares, thank you for being an amazing Beta-Reader, and for giving me support and just being awesome person in general. I promise to not torment your babies anymore. At least beyond the first paragraph. *Nervous Laughter.*
> 
> P.S. The way I described Pidge fainting is pretty similar to how I felt the first and only time I fainted, except I was only out for like ten seconds, and the cause was just a lack of breakfast and standing in heels on a hot day. The wedding was nice though.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On to the curtain call!

 

She can't remember ever being this tired. Yet despite doing nothing but sleep, she doesn't feel rested. For what seems like an eternity, her body is consumed by heat and coldness at sporadic intervals. She wants to wake up and do...anything. Grab a blanket, drink some water, or take a long shower, whatever it takes to put an end to this torture. However, an overwhelming hunger leaves her too weak to even whimper. Gradually, her needs are taken care of. When she's the most thirsty, something, or rather somebody, gently helps her drink. When her hunger pangs are unbearable, a spoon with something that tastes vaguely like rice pudding, carefully enters her mouth. When she's hot, something cool is wiped on her skin, and when she's freezing, she gets bundled up and held tight. Although she's suffering, she can't deny how safe she feels. It almost reminds her of when she had the chickenpox a few years back, and her family nursed her back to health. She can even occasionally recognize Matt's voice speak over her from time, although she can't really make out what he's saying. The other voices, though familiar, do not belong to her parents. After some time, she's able to recognize them as well. Ryner, Hunk, Allura, Shiro, at one point even Keith. And Lance; his voice is constant. It's comforting, keeping her company at the height of agony. Usually when her needs are being met, it is with his reassuring voice cooing along with her remedy. He's mostly soft and quiet, as if worried that his tone could cause more pain for her. Then there are times, when she can hear him in a muffled argument with some of the other voices—Shiro predominantly, although Hunk also tries to debate in his soft-spoken way more often than not. If she had to guess, she would say that they probably left the room she was in for those arguments. Pidge likes it most when he hums to her. Usually when she's having one of her more intense temperature fluctuations, he would hum as he took care of her. She knew that it didn't technically help, but it's still nice. It makes her feel like there might someday be an end to this hell, and she swears each time she hears his melody, she becomes a little stronger.

 

***

After some unknowable passage of time, she realizes that what she thought was humming was actually singing.

“Tú eres la luz de mi vida,..”

She can't quite understand it but she doesn't think she needs to.

“...Tú eres la voz que me calma,..”

At this moment, it's the most beautiful song she's ever heard.

“...Tú eres la lluvia de mi alma,...”

She can feel someone’s hands stroking her hair, as she begins to gather here energy to awaken.

“... Y eres toda mi verdad,.. Eres toda mi verdad”

Her eyes flutter open at the last few syllables of his song. Her vision is still blurry, but she is still able to make out his astonished face.

“Pidge? Are you waking up? Do you need anything?” He whispers frantically, examining her face for traces of discomfort he might have overlooked.

“...Why are you...here?” She is able to rasp out. Lance despondently begins to remove his hand from her head, but with some unknown strength, Pidge reaches out for it and traps it between her cheek and pillow, greedily nuzzling it. “I don't...want you to...leave. I just...don't understand.”

“What don't you understand?” Lance questions quietly.

“You. You make...no sense. You're soooo...silly...heh...but I still like you.”

“Thanks.”

“No, you don't know what I mean...You don't know many things...I know...a lot of things...but you make me smile...and laugh...and happy. So happy...except when you flirt...with all those girl...that pisses me off.”

“I'm sor..”

“But not me...no...I don't get flirts...”

“Do you want me to flirt with you?” He asks, confused but also intrigued.

“Noooooo...It would be...too much....I think I would die...well not really but...I like you.”

“...Me too.”

“No,...you don't. No you do...but...not like me. I like you like...you like girls...like you really like Allura...”

“Pidge...”

“And I understand, you can't like me like that, because all I do...is lie...to you.”

“That's not...”

“I lied to you about my...name...gender...the kiss...”

“Wait? The kiss was re...?”

“Did you know I don't need glasses?!” She suddenly sits up as she exclaims.

“...I...you don't?”

“They're not even mine...” Pidge sluggishly lies back down, gripping Lances hand in both of hers, as if it were her favorite stuffed animal. “They belonged to Matt,.... Well the frames did...Can't go to space if your eyes are bad...”

“Uh-huh.”

“I...am not...a good friend...I...always lied...and I made you sad...and I couldn't even finish the HCD...”

“Don't worry about it.”

“I'm just afraid that you'll hate me...I...I don't need you to like me...but...but...”

“Shh, it's ok. I don't hate you.” He reassures her as he caresses her other cheek.

“...Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure.”

“Ok..” She kiss the fingers of the hand she's holding. “Thank you.” another kiss. “I'm sorry...” a kiss to his palm, wrist, and the back of his hand.

“It's alright. Just try to get better now, ok? That's all I need from you.” Pidge nods as if she's accepted an important assignment. “Do you need anything? Are you hungry or thirsty or something?” She shakes her head lazily. “Ok, then just sleep, alright?” She seems to comply as her eyes begin to shut. However, the moment he tries to remove his hand, her grip tightens. So he remains, stroking her hair with his other hand as he once again begins his song. It's slowly becoming her favorite. Maybe when she feels less floaty he'll teach it to her.

 

***

She felt less woozy the next time she opened her eyes. However, she was still a bit disoriented. Although she felt a lot more coherent than she'd been in a while, a combined sense of dread and excitement made her carefully examine her memories. She had gotten more caught up in developing the HCD, than anything before. Then she had collapsed, and she notes that she must have been recovering for days, if not weeks, and finally.... _'Wait, that was just a dream, ri....I'm holding Lance's hand. The same way I did in the dream. Oh, Quiznack!'_ Her panic only increased when she noticed Lance rousing from his sleep.

“Hey,” he mumbled as he stretched one of his arms; Not even bothering remove his other one from her grasp. “You doing ok?”

“Yeah, I mean...I could use some water?”

“Sure.” He says, as he finally slips his hand away from her, but not without squeezing her hand first. As he goes to fill out her request, she tries to find a plausible way to explain her insane ramblings before he returns. Yet, the more she thinks about excuses, the more exhausted she feels. _'Dammit, Matt was right. I need to just tell him the truth.'_ On the other hand, there was still a chance that the entire incident was just a fever dream. _'...Ok, final game plan. Try to find out if it actually happened and if it did, then I'll tell him everything.'_ Just as she's made this decision, Lance returns with her water.

“Thanks.” She says in a clipped voice before drinking ¾ of the cup in one gulp. “Uhm, is anybody else awake?”

“No, everybody else is still sleeping. Do you need me to get you someone?”

“No, no, I just wanted to make sure...Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, of course, anything.” Lance responds as he sits down upon her bed.

“...Did I...Was I awake earlier. Not completely, but you know...something like that?”

“Uh, yeah. You were.”

“Did I...say something...unusual.”

“Uhm....” Pidge held her breath, not sure which answer she dreaded more. “....I was actually considering being vague about it to make you question your sanity for once, but I don't think I have the heart to...”

“Oh god, noooo!” She cries as she drops herself back on her bed, covering her face in embarrassment.

“I'm sorry, was that too soon?” He asks with concern.

“No, I deserved that. I just...I can't avoid this talk anymore.”

“We can do this some other time...”

“It's ok, Lance. I should have had this conversation with you much earlier. Perhaps when you tried to talk about it two months ago, or even right after I kissed you...”

“So it really did happen.”

“...Yeah.”

“And the stuff I almost drowned in wasn't hallucinogenic?”

“No, it never was.”

“Wow...Pidge...”

“Before, you say anything, let me just get this of my chest.”

“...”

“Yes, I have a crush on you. Present tense. And I've had it since the Garrison probably. And I'll be honest, sometimes it feels a little bigger than just a crush, but I'm not sure I can really call it the...other thing. It was easier to handle before, because there was always some other priorities. Voltron, finding my family, fixing stuff around the Castle with Hunk and Coran. But eventually, all these other responsibilities were either resolved or significantly decreased. So my feelings for you became harder to ignore. And then Ylef-41 happened, and I almost lost you, and we were on our own so the first time I didn't try to rationalize, I just indulged. And I wish I had indulged more because that might have been the single most exhilarating moment my life, which considering what I do, seems like an exaggeration, but it's not...”

“Pidge...”

“I'm not done yet. You have to know, I never really had any friends before I met you and Hunk. Apart from my family, nobody really wanted to hang out with the weird nerd girl. So even though I tried not get close to you two, because I was so focused on finding Matt and Dad, I really was...happy, that you guys put in the effort to befriend me. Especially you, since you're not as scientifically inclined as Hunk. So yeah, you're pretty much my first real crush, and unlike my computers and other inventions, I don't really know how to go about this thing. And I know I've been irrationally jealous at times, and this last stunt was really messed up, but I didn't do it to gaslight you or anything I just...”

“Katie...” he cupped her face.

“Please don't distract me, I'm almost done. I know, what I did was the worst thing a friend can do to you, and at the time I tried to convince myself that I was doing the right thing, that I was doing it for your sake, but the truth is...I was scared. I was just so afraid that you would give me the 'Can we just be friends?' talk which would wind up with us avoiding each other until we're just boring work acquaintances. But I'll gladly take that as long as...If you don't...” She starts quietly sobbing, unable to finish her sentence.

“Shh, it's ok, Katie.” He says as he wipes her tears with his thumbs. “I already promised you earlier I won't hate you, remember?” Pidge lightly nods in response as she tries to stifle her crying. “Is it ok if I talk now?” She takes a deep breath to settle herself and nods again. “I'll admit, I never really saw you like that before the Kiss. But I have always adored you for being a badass, genius. The reason I never flirted with you wasn't because I didn't find you attractive, I've always thought you were objectively cute...”

“Right.”

“It's true! Why do you think I always wanted to pick up chicks with you? Your effeminate face would have been the the perfect eye catcher, really 'em in with Hunk's soft and fuzzy goodness, and finally...Uhm, it doesn't matter. The point is, I didn't flirt with you because I was under the impression that you were above all that.”

“Ok, now I know you're full of it. How would I be above it if Allura, a literal princess, wasn't above it in your book?”

“Ok, when you were talking you barely let me say to words so you're being really rude. And also chivalry, knighthood, it all goes hand-in-hand with the princess package. You on the other hand, were this super smart, logical, Vulcan type, so obviously you were going to shut me down if I so much as though about a pick-up line in your general area.”

“You think I'm a Vulcan?”

“Pidddgggee!”

“Sorry, I'm nervous about where this is going.”

“Don't be.” He caress both her cheeks tenderly. “You have nothing to be nervous about.”

“...”

“I'll try to get to the point. I saw you as a girl. I even recognized you as an amazing girl. I just didn't see you as an option romantically, because I thought you were unattainable.”

“...!”

“Believe it or not, I put you on a pedestal. I would often try to pretend like I also understood whatever science-talk you and Hunk would spout in the hopes of getting a little common ground. And when you kissed me, it was like having your sunglasses ripped of your face after wearing them for hours. Sure, it was intense and disorienting for a while, but then everything is so much brighter and...clearer.”

“...How was it clearer?”

“Well, first of all, I finally realized that you are an option romantically, and that I really was a dumbass for not pursuing you before.” He lovingly brushed her hair aside as he said this. “Secondly, while I really had deep feelings for Allura, because she was basically everything I thought I wanted in a girl, you are everything I want to be.”

“What?”

“Your headstrong, confident, and you always know what you want. Shiro may have been my Idol, but you're my role model, and whenever I'm with you, I just want to be better.” Tired of bending over her, he lies down facing her, hands still framing her face. “And finally, I simply like being with you. Regardless of what happens, I never regret spending time with you. Without you I wouldn't even be here right now. You're my guiding star, and I would gladly follow you anywhere, because thanks to you I'm living my wildest fantasies.” he rests his forehead against hers, making her gasp. “I know for sure this is more than my usual crushes. It might not be quite the other thing yet, but I'm willing to see where this goes, and hoping that it eventually does become that. So from now on, I'm going to make some changes.”

“W-what kind of changes?”

“Just some changes in the way I interact with you. For example, from now on I'll flirt with you every day, at least once every conversation.”

“I don't want or need you to do that.”

“Well, too bad. I like flirting, and you're really cute, and I've been deprived of flirting with you for too long, so this must be rectified.”

“Oh god, can that be your required flirt now?” She asks, face impossibly red.

“Naw, that was just stating facts. This is flirting: Have you always been this breathtaking, or have you worked out some kind of mathematical sequence just to seduce me?”

“Why me?”

“Because, I like your face.” he grins unrepentantly. “Also, no more flirting with other girls. If I do fall back into old habits, then I owe you a romantic apology-dinner-date. In fact, we should do more dates in general, or start labeling all our hang out sessions, dates.”

“Do you mean just the ones after this, or our previous one's too?”

“You know what, let's count the previous ones as well. That would mean that time we got your Gameflux and Kaltenecker was our first date.”

“That was hardly a date.”

“Best first date I had!” he says before rubbing his nose against hers. “And also, any time I kiss you, it's going to mean something, like this one...” he kiss to her forehead. “...And this one...” her cheek this time. “And this on as well...” His lips touch the corner of her mouth. “And this next kiss could mean something too, if you wanted.” He hovers over her lips. Pidge hesitates, overwhelmed by his confession. She starts to suspect that maybe this entire conversation was the fever dream, and she's about to wake up to face the real Lance who wasn't quite as interested in her. _'Screw it!'_ she thinks as she takes a hold of his head. _'If this really is a fever dream, then I might as well make the most of it.'_ With that thought she pulls him into a kiss. It started out tender, gentle, and soft. They just slowly brushed their lips together, getting used to eachother's rhythm. But before long, Lance grew insatiable, and simply kissing her wasn't enough for him anymore. He licked her lips, slipped his tongue in her mouth to explore it, occasionally leaving her mouth to kiss or lick her ear, cheek, nose, neck, shoulder, all while his moved all over her upper-body; trying to find the best way to hold on to her. His intensity startled her at first, making her unable to do much more than return his kisses, gasp, and sigh. However, the more he kiss and touches her, the more something begins to build with in her. She soon becomes a little more daring, slipping her own tongue into his mouth when he enters her, kissing him somewhere other than his lips. On impulse she bites him behind the ear, where she had been experimentally licking him. That causes him to stop what he's doing. Pidge, thinking she's done something wrong, is at the cusp of apologizing, when she feels his whole body shiver and hears him...moan?

“Quiznack, Katie. What are you doing to me?”He strains to say before he roles on top of her and begins devouring her neck. That feeling that had been building within her kicks it up a notch. Earlier, she would have been embarrassed by the way he grips her hair, or slips his other hand half-way under her shirt, and most definitely by the way he's nibbling at the junction between her neck and shoulder. Yet now, it doesn't seem enough. She grabs a hold of his her, in hopes of spurring him on to something she's unsure of, but craves nonetheless. Though a part of her is still a bit anxious, she is predominantly determined to...to....

 

“Look, I know how you feel about her, and that you're worried, but Matt's going to be here in an hour or something, so maybe you can let him take up your po...Whoa!!! Sorry, sorry!” The sound of Hunks cry causes them to jump apart, completely shamefaced.

“I..uh..we were just...I mean...” Lance tries to explain between catching his breath, unable to look his friend in the face.

“It's called knocking, Hunk!” Pidge burst out, face red in a combination of mortification, frustration, and irritation. Although she faces him, she averts her eyes.

“You're completely right! I'm really sorry, I'm just...Forget I was here...Just proceed.” He indicates in their direction before backing out of the room. “Haha! Someone owes me 100 GAC!” They hear him yell behind the door.

“Ugh!” Pidge groans.

“Hey, it could have been worse.” Lance tries to comfort her, as he inches back toward her.

“How exactly? Wait don't ...”

“Well for starters,..” he explains as he begins to spoon her. “Somebody else could have walked in and made it more awkward like Coran, or Allura...” she winces at both of those possibilities. “Shiro would have probably kicked my ass, and I don't even want to think about what Matt would do.”

“Oh god! He would probably start snapping pictures for our wedding slideshow, or something like that.”

“You think we'll get married?”

“That is not what I said!”

“I know, Pidgey, I was just messing with you.” He says as he drops a kiss to her temple. “But it's not a bad thought. You're definitely the kind of girl I'd run away to Vegas with.”

“What are you even...? I thought you already met your flirt quota!”

“I don't have a quota, just a minimum requirement, and this is technically a new conversation.” He says as he lazily strokes her stomach. “But seriously, just say the word and I'll fly you to get us the closest equivalent of an elopement you can get in space.”

“Why are like this?”

“Maybe I can ask Coran, if there's a Space Vegas. Maybe he's licensed to perform Altean wedding!”

“Ok, that's it! This relationship is over. This was clearly a mistake.” She protests as she tries to remove his hands from around her, but he stubbornly holds on to her.

“I'm sorry, I'll be good. I'm just ridiculously happy right now.”

“...me too...” Pidge swears she hears him whisper something that sounds suspiciously like 'Mi Amor' as he kisses her neck, but decides not to confirm it. “Things are going to be so weird now.” She playfully laments.

“Yeah, but it'll be better than the weirdness we've had until now.”

“Definitely.” She agrees as she snuggles deeper into his embrace. For a while they just lie in comfortable silence.

“....You know, Katie Ibáñez has a really nice ring to it.”

“Laaannncee!” She groans.

“Or we could always hyphenate.”

“Shut up!” She giggles.

 

***

Although she knew that their relationship was as good as public knowledge as soon as Hunk caught them, it was still a bit surreal to be in a room with the rest of the Castle inhabitants, while Lance sat beside her with his arm lovingly around her shoulders. Allura and Coran were mercifully tame in their reactions, although Coran did keep throwing them knowing looks. Hunk was over the moon, and kept on babbling about ship names. Shiro, had been worryingly silent for a few moments, until he decided to address them. “I would first like to say that I'm glad you're recovering so well, Pidge, and I hope something like this doesn't happen again.”

“Yeah, I'm sorry I made you guys worry. I'm definitely try to avoid crashing like this if I can.”

“I hope you know, that no matter what you're going through, you can talk to us about your problems. We're a team, and we're here to support you.”

“Yeah, I'll keep that in mind.”

“You better.” He insisted jovially. “And I would also like to congratulate you two on your new relationship. I'm glad you could finally work things out, and I hope you can make each other happy.”

“Thanks, Shiro! We will! Or at the very least she'll make me happy.” Lance answered as he rubbed her shoulder.

“Knock it off!” She furtively whispered, cheeks reddening.

“Just remember to not let your relationship get in the way of your roles as Paladins, and also..” he cleared his throat, uncomfortably. “...seeing as you are both still underage...”

“Oh no!” Pidge cried.

“Well technically I'm going to be eighteen soon...”

“You're not helping.”

“...As I was saying, you two might still be considered underage back home, but I will admit that since we are in space consent laws might be different.”

“Shiro, I'm begging you, don't do this.”

“Regardless, I would prefer if your relationship didn't get...too physical...However, I'm not either of your parents so I don't really have a say in this, but if you do chose to cross that threshold, then...please use protection.”

“Please, kill me now!” She says in defeat, Lance patting her back in comfort. Shiro, also not enjoying this conversation, says a hasty goodbye and leaves the room. Just when Pidge thinks she's overcome the worst, Matt comes bursting in screaming, “Show me your hickey!”

“What the hell, Matt?!” She exclaims as she edges away from his oncoming advance.

“Hunk called me earlier, and said he caught you guys necking. If I'm going to lose 100 GAC, there better be evidence.” He says as decides to target Lance instead. He helplessly sits in place as Matt turns his head all over, thoroughly examining it. He eventually finds a tiny bite-mark located near his left ear. “Nice going, Sis! Not bad for your first make-out session. Here, you go man. I'm too proud to be upset.” He says as he hands his money over to Hunk.

“I can't believe you two. How could you wager on your friends' love life? Especially you, Matt. This is about your sister!” Allura chastises them.

“Yeah, I gotta agree with you the princess. You guys are unbelievable.” Pidge affirms irritably as she tries to console Lance, who feels violated.

“Hey, it's not like we wagered about something bad...” Hunk tries to defend himself.

“Yeah, we just had differing opinions on how soon they were going to get together. It's not like any of us were hoping things wouldn't work out for them.” Matt added.

“And that's supposed to be better somehow?” Allura pressed on.

“Come on, there were being so obvious and so stubborn, I was just about ready to drag them to the nearest space chapel myself.” Matt elaborates.

“Please, don't bring up chapels. I just got Lance to stop joking about eloping.”

“You know, not all of them were jokes.”

“Aha!” Coran suddenly exclaims. “They've already discussed marriage! Pay up, Number 2!”

“Aww, man! Really, Lance?! You couldn't wait a year before bringing that up?” Hunk complained.

“You too, Coran? Actually, I'm not that surprised. You never could withstand a good gamble.”

“It's my burden to bear, Princess.” He replies bashfully.

“...Soo, have any of you...said 'I love you.' yet?...” Allura clumsily asked.

“What?!” Both Lance and Pidge responded.

“Uhm, no offense, Allura, but that was a terrible way to find out.” Hunk comments.

“Why are you interested in knowing....Is this another wager? Are you kidding me, Allura? How could you be such a hypocrite?”

“Hey! I wasn't wagering for money, but for favors. That's far more innocent. If Lance says it first, Hunk has to let my mice do his hair for a movement.”

“Please, say you said it first, Pidge. I have a diplomatic meeting on Balmera X-95-Vox, in two quintants, and I can not leave my grooming in the paws of space rodents. No offense, you guys.” Hunk looked towards the mice on Allura's shoulders, apologetically. The mice were miffed.

“Well, none of us said it. Are you guys happy now?” Suddenly both Hunk and Coran groaned as they handed Matt some money.

“Haha! Victory!” He crowed.

“Are there anymore wagers left? Or are you guys going to stop being obnoxious?”

“Hmm, I think I have a pool going with Rolo, Nyma, and Keith on how long until Lance gets in the doghouse. Keith gives you four days.”

“The hell, he does!!!”

“All of you get out!”

***

Pidge was fussing with her hair, contemplating if she should cut it again. On one hand, she had forgotten how much work it was having it long. General upkeep took longer than usual, plus it always seemed be blocking her vision somehow; It wasn't even back to its original length! However, Keith and Matt had longish hair, and that didn't seem to prevent them from performing well on assignments. Also, Allura and Lotor had really long, fluffy hair and were both formidable fighters. Perhaps she would ask the princess for some pointers later. There was also the fact that after a month of having it this length, she still wasn't used to the way it would randomly tickle her sometimes, but that was a minor nitpick. Besides, it was kind of nice to have longer hair again. She would never admit this willingly, but she had missed styling her hair. Sure, she never did anything as elaborate as Allura, but it was fun to be able to use hair-ties, hairbands, and the occasional bobby-pin, again. She also loved the way Lance always played with her hair, or braided it, or gripped it in the midst of..

“Moo!” Kaltenecker interrupted her musings.

“Sorry, girl. Here's your lunch.” She said as dumped the bale of hay she'd been carrying into the cow's feeding trough. As Kaltenecker ate peacefully, she stroked the gentle animal's back, just immersing herself in a rare, quiet moment.

“Aaand, over here we have our artificial meadow, where we keep our cow, and...Hey, Pidge!” Lance called out, as he walked in with his HDC. Ever since its completion and mass production, the device had gotten rave reviews from their allies and fellow teammates. As she had predicted, Lance got the most use out of it. There, there hadn't been a day, since she'd put the personalized object into his hands, that make or receive a call from some kind of relative. This wasn't even the first time he leading a video tour around the Castle of Lions.

“Is that your girlfriend?” A youngish sounding voice called from the device. Pidge tries to sneak away, but Lance is having none of that.

“Yup, she sure is.” He says as he wraps his free arm around her. “Tadeo, Rita, this Katie. Pidge, these are my niece and nephew, Rita and Tadeo.” On screen are two elementary school aged children with Lance's complexion. They timidly wave to her. At this point, Pidge thought she'd be used to being introduced to her boyfriend's extended family, but it still feels intimidating—even if it is just a pair of kids.

“Hi, you guys can just call me Pidge.”

“Like the bird? That's weird.” Tadeo comments.

“Hey!” Lance exclaims.

“Your being mean!” Rita says before smacking her older brother. “I like your name. And I think you're really pretty.

“Thanks.” Pidge answers.

“Isn't she though?” Lance adds as he pecks her cheek. Tadeo gags, while his sister giggles at the display. “So, Pidge here is also a Paladin. And she's very smart. She invented this device that I'm holding in my hand.”

“Wow!”

“Really?” They call out simultaneously.

“I mean I had help from some other people...”

“Do you make like weapons, or robots?” Tadeo interrupts.

“No weapons yet, but I've reprogrammed a few robots.”

“Have you fought aliens too?” Rita eagerly questions.

“Yeah, but only when they were bad guys.”

“Is it true that you fell in love with Tio Lance, after he saved you from a giant purple, cyborg, cat-monster?” Tadeo asks skeptically.

“Oh, is that how that went?” She asks Lance with a furrowed eyebrow. He laughs nervously.

“I mean, I didn't say anything untrue.” he mumbles nervously.

“I knew he was lying!”

“He said it wasn't untrue.” Rita tries to defend him.

“It's Tio Lance! He always tells crazy stories.”

“You used to like my stories.” Lance pouts.

“I'm almost eight, Tio. I don't fall for such stuff anymore.”

“Hey, while he might have exaggerated a few details, but he was mostly telling the truth.”

“Really?!” Rita cries excitedly.

“Right.” Tadeo still remains defiant.

“Ok, so first of all Sendak, the cat-cyborg thing, is Galra, and most of them are purple and vaguely cat-like.” She started explaining. Rita eagerly listened, while Tadeo pretended to be indifferent. “I was fighting Sendak, and he was wounded and unconscious.” At this Tadeo snorted. “However, at one point I almost got choked by the mean Galra Cyborg, which is when Lance woke out of his unconsciousness long enough to shoot him and save me. I might not have fallen for him at that moment, but it was definitely very heroic.” Rita aww'd while Tadeo rolled his eyes.

“So, when did you start liking Tio Lance?” She asks her.

“Can I tell you a secret.” Pidge stage whispers. Rita nods solemnly, as if she's about to learn nuclear launch codes. “I already liked your Tio before that.” This makes Rita beam.

“Enough already! I want to hear more about flying in giant cat robots, and destroying battle ships!” Tadeo protests.

“You just want to hear more stories, so you can brag to that pretty third grader you have a crush on.”

“No, I don't. Shut up!!!” He exclaims, blushing furiously.

“Hey!” A third voice calls from out of frame. “Are you guys talking to your Tio Lance? I told you I'm expecting an important call today, and trans-galactic calls drain the battery rapidly!”

“Oh, I better put that on my to-do list for adjustments.” Pidge mutters to herself. The screen now shows the face of someone Pidge recognizes as Lance's sister-in-law. “I'm sorry to cut this short, but my phone's a 15% now and I have to find a charger. Bye Lance! Nice to see you again, Pidge.”

“Bye, Emelie.”

“Likewise, Emelie.” After their goodbyes the screen shuts off.

“Phew, that was an ordeal.” Lance says, completely resting his weight on his girlfriend.

“Get off me, doofus.” She protests halfheartedly.

“Nooo, I'm drained from entertaining my little relatives.” He groans. “Why couldn't you play along with my story. You're killing the magic for them.”

“Lance, we live in a Castle that doubles as a spaceship, and fight evil alien overlords in semi-autonomous robot cats, that sometimes combine into a gigantic robot warrior. I think there's plenty of magic to our day-to-day lives without embellishments.”

“Yeah, I suppose you're right.”

“But, I guess some of our adventures can be a bit scary for little kids, so I can understand where you're coming from.”

“See, this is why I love you. You get me on a deeper level than anyone else.”

“...You love me?” Pidge asks cautiously, startled by his liberal use of the word.

“Yeah,” Lance shrugs casually. “I'm pretty sure I do.”

“How can you know that after just a month of dating?”

“I don't know. I honestly wasn't sure until a moment ago. If I had let this slip with some other girls I dated, I would probably be scrambling for some kind of explanation, but this...this just feels right you know?” The smile on his face is breathtaking, and Pidge can't look away.

“...I don't expect you to say it back now, or anytime soon. Just take your time to...”

“I love you too.” She blurts out, cheeks turning scarlet.

“...Did that feel right to you?”

“...Yeah, it did actually.”

“Ok then.” His smile becomes impossibly brighter before he kisses her. They blissfully exchange some soft kisses, until Pidge starts giggling. “What?” Lance asks, also chuckling a bit.

“Nothing, it's just that Hunk will have to have his hair styled by the mice now.”

“Oh right! I forgot about that.” They share a little more laughter and sigh a bit. “So, seeing as you've pretty much talked to my entire family tree, and we've exchanged I-love-yous, I think I can be impertinent enough to ask when you're going to call your mom.”

Pidge winced in shame. “It's not that I don't miss my mom. It's just that when I went undercover at the Garrison, I kind of went dark on her. I know, Dad's probably got her up to speed about what Matt and I are still doing out here. And he doesn't even know about us, so...I'm not looking forward to her reaction to everything.”

“Wow, I had no idea you considered the type of boyfriend you had to hide from your parents.”

“This isn't about you!” She asserts, slapping his arm. “This is about postponing what's bound to be an emotionally draining conversation.”

“Yeah, remember how that worked out for you the last time?”

“...Point taken. But to be fair, I did wind up with a sweet boyfriend.”

“True, but if we had talked earlier, we might have gotten together sooner without you working yourself to death.”

“Ok, let's stop dwelling in the past.”

“Uh-huh.”

She took a deep breath. “I'll call her soon.”

“I hope you know there's no pressure. It's just that ever since I saw you collapse, I can't help but get nervous when you put these kinds of things off. I don't know if I could ever watch you go through something like that ag....” Pidge kisses him to shut him up.

“Thank you for your concern. I'll try to call her before the week is out. And when I do, will you join me?”

“Whatever you need, Katie.” He responds, kissing her forehead in return. “I love you, so much!”

“I love you too, Lance.”

“No, you don't get it. I love you so much, I would marry you at the drop of a hat.”

“You've got to get some new material.”

“Ok, how about this? I would carry your children if I could.”

“How is an impossible situation supposed to prove your love?”

“Ok, if you were pregnant right now, I wouldn't even flinch and would gladly raise that child with you.”

“Huh.”

“What? Is that not impressive enough for....Wait a second, are you pregnant?”

“No, idiot! The most intimate we've gotten that wasn't kiss related, was when you touched one of my still covered breasts, and I'm pretty sure that was an accident.”

“Then what was so 'huh' about my statement?”

“I just thought it was interesting that your declarations were so...domestic. I would have expected something flashier from you.”

“What can I say, babe. You make me want to settle down.”

“Please, never call me babe again.” She requests as she snuggles into him.

“...Want to make a baby now?”

“I'm leaving.”

“Noooo! Don't leave me, Pidgey! I've got nothing else to live for!” He cries over dramatically. They spend the rest of the afternoon teasing, laughing with, and kissing each other, unable to escape this haze of elation. Pidge knows intellectually, that this phase in their relationship probably won't last, and eventually their feelings would cool down, and they might even get bored of each other. But at the moment, her only truth was that she loved Lance more than she'd loved anybody before, and she was going to hold on to that truth for as long as she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Ares, for not only Beta-Reading, but for finding the perfect song snippet.  
> It has been a great experience writing this story, and I'm so happy with all the feed-back I got. If there is any interest, I might write two one-shots based on the Challenger incident and the call to Colleen Holt.  
> The snippet is from the song 'Mi Verdad' by Mana and Shakira. The Lyrics translate to:  
> You are the light of my life  
> You are the voice that calms me down,  
> The rains that pours down my soul,  
> You are my only truth,  
> You are my only truth.  
> (And thanks again Ares, for telling me what the words meant. It definitely inspired my closing sentence. It has been an honor and a pleasure.)

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my page funtryandthepaladudes.tumblr.com. Once, again thank you to ares-is-a-tired-pigeon.tumblr.com. You're a Gem!  
> For the original post that this story was based on click here:https://funtryandthepaladudes.tumblr.com/post/173527003371/ive-got-this-plance-plot-bunny-stuck-in-my-head


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